


3am

by artikgato



Category: Persona 4
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-09-25 10:40:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20375407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artikgato/pseuds/artikgato
Summary: He squinted open his eyes the smallest possible amount so that he could see enough to put in his password, but was startled enough by what was on the screen that they flew open and he sat bolt upright, phone in hand.Yu was calling him.Yu was calling him, and it was three in the morning.





	3am

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for Relxion-kunp's Souyo zine last year, and I can't believe I haven't posted it yet. Enjoy!

Yosuke’s phone was buzzing noisily on the pillow beside his head, which started Yosuke out of the dream he’d been having. He groaned, because it felt like it was way too early to get up for school, and reached over to grab the phone. He squinted open his eyes the smallest possible amount so that he could see enough to put in his password, but was startled enough by what was on the screen that they flew open and he sat bolt upright, phone in hand. 

Yu was calling him.

Yu was calling him, and it was _three in the morning_. 

“Partner?” he asked, barely above a whisper, pressing the phone to his ear. 

“Yosuke,” he heard Yu’s voice on the other end of the phone, and relaxed just a little bit. “Sorry to call you so late. Can you talk?” 

“S-sure,” Yosuke whispered. He glanced over at his closet door, hoping that Teddie was asleep on the other side of it. He started to ask if Yu could give him a second, but Yu said something first.

“I...might be in trouble,” he said. Yosuke froze, jaw dropping open. He barely managed to slap his hand over his mouth before letting out a startled noise that would have definitely woken up Teddie. 

“Are you in danger?” he asked, as quietly and as calmly as he could, trying not to let himself dissolve into hysterics.

“No,” Yu replied, and he let out a sigh of relief. “I just needed to talk to somebody and...you were the first person I could think of.”

“I’m flattered,” Yosuke replied, and he really, really was. “I just...let me get out of my room, I’ll wake up Teddie at this rate…”

“Grab a hoodie and your shoes,” Yu suggested, and that made Yosuke pause.

“Uh...why?” he asked.

“I’m...kind of outside your house right now,” Yu finally answered, and Yosuke nearly flung himself across his room and over to his window to check. True to his word, standing in the halo of a streetlight and wearing a hoodie himself, was Yu Narukami...who was supposed to be in Tokyo.

“Why are you—”

“Yosuke, is something wrong?” Teddie’s sleepy voice called from the other side of the room. Yosuke cursed internally and turned around, managing to slip his phone face-down onto the nearby desk without Teddie noticing.

“Nah, I just think I heard one of Yu’s cats outside. Didn’t you hear it screeching a few minutes ago, Ted? It woke me up.”

He hated lying to Teddie, but he also knew that if Yu was here all the way from the city then _something_ important must have happened. He didn’t need Teddie getting involved right now.

“I didn’t hear anything,” Teddie replied, punctuated with a yawn. “You should go back to sleep, Yosuke, you need all the beauty sleep you can get, y’know.”

“Very funny,” Yosuke growled in response. Teddie slid the closet door closed behind himself, and Yosuke waited until he didn’t hear him shuffling around inside his futon to grab the phone. He peeked out the window and Yu was still standing there, patiently waiting, eyes now trained on his window. He waved, and Yosuke waved back, with an nod. 

Moving as quietly as possible, Yosuke scooped up his keys and a pair of old sandals off of the floor and slid out of his room, closing the door behind himself. He made his way through the house silently, having honed his sneaking out skills after years of practice, and slipped out the front door with none of his family any the wiser.

Once he got outside, he regretted not grabbing a hoodie. It was nearly summer, but the nights were still a little chilly. He could deal with it. He had more important things to worry about. He hurried outside and over to where Yu was still standing.

“Hey,” Yu greeted, and Yosuke shook his head.

“Hey yourself,” he replied. “Is everything okay?”

“No,” Yu sighed. “No, not really.”

“Want to talk about it?” Yosuke asked, and Yu shrugged.

“Yes? But I mostly just...I’m glad you’re here, Yosuke,” Yu managed to reply, obviously struggling. He looked _tired_.

“You didn’t come all the way here from the city just so that you could hang out with me at three in the morning on a Tuesday, did you Partner?” Yosuke asked, softly. Yu shook his head.

“No...no, I…”

“Why don’t we go somewhere a little more private to talk, okay?” Yosuke eventually suggested, and Yu nodded, looking grateful. “How about the shrine?”

“Are you okay to go that far?” Yu asked, and Yosuke shrugged.

“If I’m back before my parents wake up, they won’t even notice,” he replied. ‘Hopefully’, he didn’t add out loud. Yu nodded. He looked hesitant for a second, dropping his gaze and biting his lip.

“Um, I know this is still...still really new to you, but do you think you could...we could…?” Yu stammered, some kind of cross between shyness and tiredness making him the least articulate Yosuke had ever heard him. But Yosuke understood what he was asking, because he was holding his arms up and out, like he wanted a hug. 

Yosuke all but launched himself at him, wrapping his arms around him in a tight embrace that Yu was quick to reciprocate.

“I missed you,” he mumbled against Yu’s shoulder, and Yu made a noise that was strangely and horrifyingly a lot like a sob. Yosuke pulled away from the hug and sure enough, Yu was crying. Yu was crying, and Yosuke didn’t know _what_ to do but definitely felt like it was his fault, somehow, and he needed to do _something_ about it, so he kissed him. 

It wasn’t like it was their first kiss, or even the first time Yosuke initiated the kiss, but it still felt...profound, somehow. Like a kiss they were definitely both going to be remembering for a long, long time. Yu gasped into the kiss, melting into it quickly. Yosuke pulled away, not moving back very far and instead leaning his forehead against Yu’s. They were both panting for air.

“So...the shrine?” he asked, and Yu looked dazed for a second.

“The shrine, yeah. Let’s go,” he replied. Yosuke still had to be the one to pull away from him, but he was quick to grab his hand and lace their fingers together as they walked.

“Whatever’s going on, whatever made you show up in Inaba at 3am, it’ll be okay, Yu. I promise,” Yosuke said. Yu looked over at him, looking pale and weary in the moonlight, and he smiled.

“Thanks, Yosuke,” he replied. Yu grinned back at him. They continued all the way to the shrine hand-in-hand through the dark, silent streets of Inaba, following the path of the streetlights to their destination.

“So?” Yosuke asked, when they finally reached the shrine. It was dark, but there was just enough light from the bright moon and nearby streetlights for Yosuke to see Yu’s face. Yu had a bittersweet look on his face as he looked around the shrine. “Want to tell me what’s going on?”

“My parents want me to go to a college overseas next year,” Yu said, after a few moments of silence. Yosuke sucked in a breath in alarm, but said nothing. Yu wasn’t looking at him, staring up into the clear sky. “They went to so much trouble and talked to so many of their connections to secure me a guarantee of placement at a really prestigious university somewhere in France, supposedly. With housing and everything. And when I told them that I wanted to move back here and go to the university near Okina, well…”

“Yu…” Yosuke replied, sadly. “They should have consulted with you first, it’s not your—”

“I know it isn’t my fault,” Yu sighed. “And I don’t really care what they want for me, not anymore. I did at first, but…”

“What happened?” Yosuke asked. He took one of Yu’s hands in his own, giving it a gentle squeeze and letting Yu squeeze back not-so-gently. 

“I tried reasoning with them, I really did. They told me that I was an ungrateful child, and threatened to disown me if I didn’t do what they wanted.”

“...so, did you…?” Yosuke prompted, and Yu laughed this time.

“I called their bluff. I told them about us,” he said. He turned to look at Yosuke now, looking sheepish and apologetic. “Sorry to use you like that. It was the only thing I could think of that would _actually_ make them disown me.”

“Partner…” Yosuke sighed. “So that’s it, then?”

“Yeah,” Yu confirmed. “I packed some bags and got on a train straight for here. I don’t think my parents have realized I’m gone yet...they were probably expecting me to come groveling to them tomorrow morning, begging them to reconsider, but I won’t.”

“Oh man,” Yosuke chuckled. “They’re going to be _pissed_.”

“They will,” Yu replied, grinning. “But I won’t back down from this. I love this town too much...and I love _you_ too much to let them win.”

“You big sap,” Yosuke groaned. “...I love you too.”

They stood there for a while longer in the quiet shrine, looking at each-other in the moonlight, before Yu interrupted the tender moment with a yawn. Yosuke laughed.

“C’mon, let’s head back. My bed’s calling my name. We’ll figure things out in the morning,” Yosuke suggested. Yu nodded gratefully, and they turned to leave the shrine and head into a new, hopefully brighter, future together.


End file.
